Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "20th-century-history"
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1. The Crown (2016–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
Follows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.
Stars: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Matt Smith
Votes: 256,565
2. Fellow Travelers (2023)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance
Follows the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world.
Stars: Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache
Votes: 10,607
3. Charité (2017– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, History, Sci-Fi
The series describes the accomplishments of several famous German physicians and scientists at the prestigious Charité hospital in Berlin during its history.
Stars: Alicia von Rittberg, Mala Emde, Nina Gummich, Sesede Terziyan
Votes: 3,787
4. Mirror (1975)
Not Rated | 107 min | Biography, Drama
A dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Margarita Terekhova, Filipp Yankovskiy, Ignat Daniltsev, Oleg Yankovskiy
Votes: 52,205 | Gross: $0.18M
5. J. Edgar (2011)
R | 137 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
J. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Hamilton
Votes: 133,606 | Gross: $37.31M
6. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
G | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of the 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, and the series of preceding American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness.
Directors: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Jason Robards, Joseph Cotten
Votes: 37,200 | Gross: $29.55M
7. Cristóbal Balenciaga (2024)
TV-MA | 299 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the rise of designer Cristóbal Balenciaga from humble origins to fashion icon.
Stars: Alberto San Juan, Adam Quintero, Gemma Whelan, Emeline Bayart
Votes: 1,420
8. The Red Baron (2008)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
German biopic loosely based on the World War I fighter ace Manfred Von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron by friend and foe alike.
Director: Nikolai Müllerschön | Stars: Matthias Schweighöfer, Lena Headey, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes
Votes: 13,150 | Gross: $0.04M
9. Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany (1984)
924 min | Drama, History, War
The village of Schabbach experiences the shifting fortunes of Germany from 1919 to 1982.
Stars: Marita Breuer, Rüdiger Weigang, Kurt Wagner, Gertrud Bredel
Votes: 3,332
10. The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022)
TV-14 | 398 min | Documentary, History
Explores America's response to the Holocaust, and how it challenged the ideals of democracy.
Stars: Peter Coyote, Daniel Mendelsohn, Peter Hayes, Deborah Lipstadt
Votes: 1,576
11. Grey Wolf: Hitler's Escape to Argentina (2012)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Drama, History
Adolf Hitler the biggest criminal in history escaped from the ruins of Berlin and fled with his pregnant girlfriend Eva Braun to a life in the depths of Patagonia, Argentina where he died in 1962.
Director: Gerrard Williams | Stars: Dante Venesio, Maria Heller, Martin Gianola, Pietro Gian
Votes: 340
12. The Kay Griggs Interviews (1998)
Documentary, History, Talk-Show
Pastor Rick Strawcutter interviews Katharine Pollard Griggs, the wife of Marine Corps Colonel George Griggs, about the history of the U.S. military and the power elite.
Stars: Rick Strawcutter, Kay Griggs
Votes: 25
13. The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2010)
109 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Profile of Robert Oppenheimer, controversial father of the atomic bomb.
Director: David Grubin | Stars: Marvin L. Goldberger, Priscilla McMillan, Richard Rhodes, Martin Sherwin
Votes: 222
14. 1968: The Year That Changed America (2018)
43 min | Documentary, History
A four-part series that looks back at 1968, a year marked by seismic shifts in American politics, social movements, and global relations, including cultural icons who forever changed the landscape.
Stars: Dan Rather, Mark Bowden, Rick Perlstein, Tim Naftali
Votes: 267
15. Apocalypse: Stalin (2015)
157 min | Documentary, History, War
The rise of Stalin, from his early beginning as a bankrobber to the cold-blooded leader of the Soviet Union.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Doug Rand
Votes: 1,118
16. The Irish Revolution (2019– )
154 min | Documentary
The story of the Irish war of independence 1919 to 1922
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Conor Mulvagh, Heather Jones, Michael Laffan
Votes: 102
17. Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2021)
120 min | Documentary
This documentary explores film through the voices of significant professionals who have contributed to make sure moving images survive and remain accessible.
Director: Inés Toharia Terán | Stars: Ann Adachi-Tasch, Laure Adler, Benjamin Chowkwan Ado, Janice Allen
Votes: 254
18. Apocalypse Hitler attaque à l'Est (2021)
Documentary, History, War
In June 1941, Hitler took his greatest gamble - launching an attack against the Soviet Union. Despite being the largest German operation of WWII, Operation Barbarossa was one of his biggest failures.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Stephen Rashbrook, Nathan Rippy
Votes: 207
19. Apocalypse: Hitler Takes on the West (2021– )
104 min | Documentary, History, War
May 10th, 1940, Hitler takes on the West. Will he precipitate Europe into the Apocalypse?
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Nathan Rippy, Stephen Rashbrook
Votes: 255
20. 1939 Battle of Westerplatte (2013)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, History, War
September 1st, 1939. German battleship Schleswig-Holstein marks the start of World War II by firing on the garrison stationed at the Westerplatte peninsula in Poland.
Director: Pawel Chochlew | Stars: Michal Zebrowski, Robert Zoledziewski, Jan Englert, Piotr Adamczyk
Votes: 978
21. De Gaulle (2020– )
297 min | Biography, Drama, History
From the appeal of June 18, 1940 to his departure from power in 1969, a dive into nearly three decades of the public, but also private, life of Charles de Gaulle.
Stars: Samuel Labarthe, Constance Dollé, Christopher Craig, Baptiste Roussillon
Votes: 170
22. Evolution of Evil (2015)
50 min | Documentary, Biography, History
They are a rogues gallery of the most notorious despots in recent history. From Hitler to Saddam Hussein, from Stalin to Kim Jong-il of North Korea, from Chairman Mao to Colonel Gaddafi ... See full summary »
Stars: Alisdair Simpson, Mohammed Atta, Luigi Boccanfuso, Frank McDonough
Votes: 142
23. The Memory of Justice (1976)
PG | 278 min | Documentary, War
Explores the subject of atrocities during wartime, especially during World War II and the Vietnam War.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Yehudi Menuhin, Noël Favrelières, Anthony Herbert, Edward Sowders
Votes: 383
24. The True Glory (1945)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, War
A documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen.
Directors: Garson Kanin, Carol Reed | Stars: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Leslie Banks, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle
Votes: 631
25. Strana Sovetov. Zabytye vozhdi (2017–2019)
Documentary, History
This is a project that tells about the key figures in the leadership of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1953.
Stars: Lyubov Germanova, Ilya Isaev, Sergey Chonishvili, Zurab Miminoshvili
Votes: 15
26. Enthusiasm (1930)
Not Rated | 67 min | Documentary
How the miners of the Don coal basin (one of the industrial regions of Ukraine) were striving to fulfill in four years their part of the Five Year Plan.
Director: Dziga Vertov
Votes: 1,049
27. Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom (2021 TV Special)
47 min | Documentary, History, War
Based on Iain Ballantyne's book, and shedding new light on one of World War II's most epic sea battles, this documentary provides a thrilling countdown of the Bismarck's final 24 hours.
Director: David Gilbert | Stars: Yves Dias, Chris Parry, Jane Harrold, Iain Ballantyne
Votes: 28
28. The 100 Greatest War Films (2005 TV Movie)
385 min | Documentary
The 100 Greatest War Films of all time, as voted for by the public of the UK.
Director: Mark Murray | Stars: Sean Pertwee, David Aaronovitch, Ken Annakin, Jean-Jacques Annaud
Votes: 121
29. Sex, Censorship and the Silver Screen (1996)
50 min | Documentary, History
A six hour series exploring the 100 year evolution of sexuality and censorship in motion pictures.
Stars: Raquel Welch, Jason Alexander, Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Tomei
Votes: 108
30. The Desert of Forbidden Art (2010)
PG | 80 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
Risking being denounced as an 'enemy of the people,' Igor Savitsky rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists' works and creates in a far desert of Soviet Uzbekistan a museum now worth millions.
Directors: Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope | Stars: Edward Asner, Sally Field, Ben Kingsley, Igor Paramonov
Votes: 232
31. The Troubles (1981– )
Documentary
Six-part documentary series looking at Northern Ireland from the perspective of recent Irish history.
Votes: 10
32. Not Just a Game (2010 Video)
62 min | Documentary, History, Sport
This critique of U.S. sports culture shows how 20th-century sports has consistently reflected the hegemonic political discourse of the day, specifically, elite narratives about nationalism, war, gender, race, homosexuality and capitalism.
Director: Jeremy Earp | Star: Dave Zirin
Votes: 89
33. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston (2019 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.
Director: Simon George | Stars: Nigel Collins, Helen-Jean Long, Jerry Izenberg, Mike Tyson
Votes: 427
34. Three Songs About Lenin (1934)
Not Rated | 61 min | Documentary
Three anonymous songs about Lenin provide the basis for this documentary that celebrates the achievements of the Soviet Union and Lenin's role in creating them.
Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Dolores Ibárruri, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin
Votes: 882
35. A Timewatch Guide (2015– )
Documentary, History
Using archive footage from the long-running Timewatch series and the BBC in general, the televised evolution of a particular subject is examined each time.
Stars: Alice Roberts, Vanessa Collingridge, Saul David, David Olusoga
Votes: 23
36. Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution (2017 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary, Drama, History
In February 1917, Nicolas Ii abdicated as Tsar of All the Russias. By October, Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin have seized control. Was the Russian Revolution really a popular uprising? Or merely a stunning coup d'etat?
Director: Renny Bartlett | Stars: Tariq Ali, Martin Amis, Nicholas Asbury, Nicholas Cowell
Votes: 66
37. De Gaulle (2006– )
210 min | Biography, History
This film is a labor of love, delicious to watch and full of tenderness for General de Gaulle as a person. Made for TV, (two episodes 1 hour 3/4 each), it retraces some of the most salient ... See full summary »
Stars: Bernard Farcy, Danièle Lebrun, David Ryall, Grégoire Oestermann
Votes: 139
38. Moscow Strikes Back (1942)
Approved | 55 min | Documentary, War
A number of frontline cameramen shot the footage used in this documentary of the Battle of Moscow, between October 1941 and January 1942,in which a people's war against the German invaders,... See full summary »
Directors: Ilya Kopalin, Leonid Varlamov | Stars: N. Dubravin, Edward G. Robinson, Joseph Stalin
Votes: 293
39. Paris 1919: Un traité pour la paix (2009 TV Movie)
90 min | Documentary, Drama, History
A film about the Paris Peace Conference that negotiated the end of World War I with the Versailles Treaty.
Director: Paul Cowan | Stars: R.H. Thomson, David Lowe, Paul Bandey, Yan Brian
Votes: 176
40. Desert Victory (1943)
62 min | Documentary, War
The Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analysed, with the major portion of the film examining the battles at El Alamein, including a re-enactment.
Directors: Roy Boulting, David MacDonald | Stars: Harold Alexander, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Bernard L. Montgomery
Votes: 370
41. Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 (2012)
87 min | Documentary
An examination of the destruction of cosmopolitan city Smyrna in 1922.
Director: Maria Ilioú | Stars: Eleni Bastea, Alexandros Kitroev, Giles Milton, Jack Nalbantian
Votes: 112
42. Ellis Island (1997 TV Movie)
138 min | Documentary, History
The story of the Ellis Island immigration station, as related by historians and the immigrants themselves.
Director: Lisa Bourgoujian | Stars: Mandy Patinkin, Cy Abrams, Isabel Belarsky, Marinus de Nooyer
43. Battle for Cassino (1969 Video)
51 min | Documentary, History, War
In this World War II documentary, we examine several of the controversial bombings of the war. Included is Allies bombing of the Benedictine Monastery on Monte Cassino.
Director: Peter Batty | Stars: Bernard Archard, Allan Francis Harding, Dan Davin, Achim Oster
Votes: 13
44. Queen of the World (2018)
TV-G | 60 min | Documentary, History
A rare look inside the life of Queen Elizabeth II, featuring footage from the Queen's private film archive, as complex preparations for the traditional royal summit with all 53 member states of the British Commonwealth begin.
Stars: Sarah Lancashire, King Charles III, Justin Trudeau, Princess Anne
Votes: 116
45. The Windsors: A Royal Family (1994)
228 min | Documentary, Biography, History
PBS documents the rise, fame and infamy of the Royal House of Windsor, born from its German roots.
Stars: Sarah Bradford, John Brabourne, Penny Junor, Anthony Holden
Votes: 52
46. Broken Promises: The United Nations at 60 (2005 Video)
65 min | Documentary, History
The history of the United Nations highlighting the gap between the good intentions and ideals of its inception and the sad reality of its present state of inefficiency and corruption.
Directors: Kevin Knoblock, Ron Silver | Stars: Ron Silver, Kofi Annan, Roméo Dallaire, Stephane Dujarric
Votes: 45
47. Battle for Warsaw (1978)
Not Rated | 48 min | Documentary, History, War
Using rare newly found footage and eye-witness accounts from survivors, 'Battle for Warsaw' tells the tragic story of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising in which nearly a quarter of a million Poles lost their lives.
Director: Peter Batty | Stars: Bernard Archard, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Wladyslaw Sikorski
Votes: 16
48. Werner Heisenberg (2011)
Documentary
Stars: Hans-Peter Dürr, Martin Heisenberg, Michael Tregor, Andreas Kumpf
49. A Film About Anna Akhmatova (2008)
TV-G | 105 min | Documentary
Fate granted Anna Akhmatova immense poetic talent, beauty, fame and a brilliant generation. Then came the executions of her loved ones, hunger, wars, revolutions, Soviet terror, isolation, ... See full summary »
Director: Helga Landauer | Star: Anatoly Naiman
Votes: 14
50. Gehlen: Hitler's Superspy (1974 TV Movie)
52 min | Documentary, History, War
This is the remarkable story of Reinhard Gehlen, former Head of the German Secret Service, who helped to found the CIA, the American Central Intelligence Agency.
Director: Peter Batty | Stars: Siegfried Westphal, Walter Warlimont, Kenneth Strong, Lyman Kirkpatrick
Votes: 24